Ph. D Guidelines Master Copy

OSMANIA UNIVERSITY
Ph. D. Rules and Regulations with effect from 2013-2014
1.

The Degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Ph. D.) shall be awarded by Osmania University in the Faculties of
Arts, Commerce, Management, Education, Law, Social Sciences, Oriental Languages, Science,
Technology, Pharmacy, Engineering, Informatics and in such other faculties as may be notified in
future, in accordance with the provisions of these rules and regulations in current or amended form,
and subject to the conditions laid down herein.

2.

Procedure for admission into Ph. D.:
ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA:
In all Faculties a candidate is eligible for registration/admission into Ph. D. Programme in a subject, if
he/she:

2.1

obtained a Post Graduate Degree, from a recognized University or a Post Graduate Degree through
distance mode from a recognized University and approved by the concerned authority, in the
concerned subject or in an allied subject approved by the Osmania University securing not less
than 55% marks at the Post Graduate Degree and securing not less than 50% marks in the case of
SC/ST candidates. If the results of Post Graduate Degree are declared in the form of grades/
credits/cumulative grade point average in their marks cards/transcripts, such grades/points shall
be converted into percentage of marks to assess the minimum eligibility criteria.
AND

2.2

The candidates have to appear in the Ph. D. Eligibility Test in the subject in which they wish to pursue
Ph. D. (for eg: a candidate with M. Com. Degree may pursue Ph. D. in Business Management provided
he/she appears and qualifies in the Ph. D. Eligibility Test in the subject of Business Management).
OR

2.3

Awarded a research fellowship through a national level test namely UGC/CSIR /ICAR/ICMR/DBT,
INSPIRE fellowship and Teacher Fellowship applicants subject to clearance by the Dean, C. D. C, O. U.
OR

2.4

Qualified in the UGC, UGC-CSIR NET /APSET /JEST Examination.
OR

2.5

M. Phil. Degree through regular mode from Osmania University in the concerned subject or Ph. D. in
an allied subject approved by O. U.
A candidate satisfying one or more of the eligibility criteria as per the rules 2. 1 - 2. 5 does not
guarantee admission into Ph. D. programme. The Ph. D. admission is subject to the availability of
vacancies with the Research Supervisors in the concerned Department, candidate academic record, the
performance of the candidate in the Ph. D. admission interview and the A. P. State Govt.reservation
policy.
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2.6

The eligibility for admission of a foreign student who did his /her P. G. course in a foreign Country /in
an Indian university to the Ph. D. Programme of O.U. is decided by the Ph. D. Admission Committee of
the concerned Faculty on the basis of the course content (the detailed syllabus) of the candidate in
their P. G. Degree. Further he/she shall submit a filled in application form to the Dean of the concerned
Faculty with a comprehensive research proposal and the admission is subject to the clearance from
UFRO, O. U.

3.

Ph. D. Eligibility Test:

3.1

“Ph. D. Eligibility Test” as mentioned in rule 2. 2 is conducted by Osmania University in each department
subject to the availability of vacancies(as on the date of Ph.D. Eligibility Test notification) as notified by
the Dean of the concerned Faculty.

3.2

All the candidates who possess at least the minimum percentage of marks at the P.G. Degree (as on
the last date of submission of application) as specified above (rules 2.1 & 2.2) shall appear for the Ph. D.
Eligibility Test.

3.3

However, the following categories are exempted from appearing the O.U. Ph. D. Eligibility Test:
a) Those who are awarded research fellowship in a national level test namely UGC, UGC-CSIR/ICMR/ICAR /
DBT-JRF/INSPIRE fellowship and Teacher Fellowship applicants subject to the clearance by the Dean,
CDC, O.U.
b) Those who are qualified UGC/CSIR-NET /APSET/ JEST Examination.
c)

3.4.

Those who hold M. Phil. Degree in regular mode from O.U. in the concerned subject or Ph. D. in
an allied subject approved by Osmania University.
The general pattern of the eligibility test is as follows:
Maximum marks for eligibility test: 100
Nature of Test: Objective type with multiple choice questions
Syllabus for entrance test: P. G. syllabus of the concerned Department as approved by the Board
of Studies of the Department, O. U.

3.5

The minimum marks for qualifying the Ph.D. Eligibility Test shall be 50% in case of Open category
candidates, 45% in case of B. C. candidates and 40% in case of SC/ST category candidates. Students
belonging to Physically Challenged category are allowed a relaxation of 5% marks in each category.

3.6

The Ph. D. Eligibility Test is valid only for one year concerned to the Ph. D. Admission Notification.

3.7

The University invites applications for Ph. D. Programme through its website and press notification
after the declaration of the Ph.D. Eligibility Test results.

4.

Ph. D. Admission Interview:

4.1

After the declaration of the results of the Ph. D. Eligibility Test, the results shall be sent to the Dean of
the concerned Faculty for further processing for Ph. D. admission/registration by the Ph. D. Admission
Committee chaired by the Dean of the Faculty.
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4.2.

In response to the University notification, the eligible candidates are required to apply in a prescribed
application form along with the prescribed fee to the Dean of the concerned Faculty. The candidates
may be called for the Ph. D. admission interview after the scrutiny by the Departmental Research
Committee subject to the availability of seats.

4.3.

Ph. D Admission Committee: The Dean concerned shall constitute the “Ph. D. Admission Committee”
for each subject to select the candidates for admission. The Ph. D. Admission Committee shall comprise
of the concerned Dean as the Chairperson, the Head of the Department, Chairperson, BOS and three
senior Ph. D. supervisors from the concerned Department. In case, recognized Supervisors are not
available in the concerned department, the Dean may include recognized supervisors from an allied
subject or external subject experts who are recognized supervisors of Osmania University.

4.4.

The admission/registration into Ph. D. Programme is in two categories:

4.4.1. Category – I: (Research fellowship holders)
1.a) The candidates who are awarded a research fellowship in a national level test such as UGC/CSIR/ ICMR/
CAR/DBT / INSPIRE fellowship and Teacher Fellowship applicants belong to this category I and are
admitted directly to the Ph. D. Programme.
b) The candidates with ICSSR/ RGNF/ MANF/ NIN- JRF/IICT-JRF or SRF awarded by national level bodies/
institutes having NET/APSET/ Ph. D. eligibility test qualification are also admitted directly to the Ph. D.
programme.
c) The candidates with ICSSR/ RGNF/ MANF/ NIN- JRF/ IICT-JRF or SRF awarded by national level bodies/
institutes who do not have any eligibility test qualification are also admitted directly into Ph. D. subject
to the condition that they must clear NET/APSET/ Ph. D. Eligibility Test within two years from the date
of admission into Ph.D programme.
2.
a)

For the admission of these candidates into Ph. D. the procedure is as follows:
The Dean of the concerned Faculty shall issue a notification twice in an academic year calling for
applications for Ph. D admission from Research Fellowship holders mentioned in Category-I.

b) The research fellowship holder shall submit a filled in application form to the Dean of the Faculty
concerned with a comprehensive research proposal.
c) The Ph. D. Admission Committee interviews these candidates and the candidate explains the research
interests after which the committee allots him/her a research supervisor in the area of interest of the
candidate and the specialization of the research supervisor.
d) In case there is a delay in conducting interview for admission into the Ph. D. for the fellowship holders,
the Dean of the Faculty is authorized to allot a research supervisor to the candidate to enable him/her
to start the research work and draw the research fellowship. Such a candidate must submit a filled in
application form to the Dean of the Faculty along with a comprehensive research proposal. Such
candidates shall appear for interview before the Ph. D. Admission Committee in response to the
notification issued by the Dean of the Faculty. In the case there are less number of vacancies than the
JRF candidates, the merit list will be prepared based on the percentage of marks obtained in the
qualifying PG examination.
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e) Dean of the Faculty informs the research supervisor regarding the allotment of candidate for the
research guidance and the research supervisor must give his/her written consent.
f)

The admission of the fellowship holder into the Ph. D. Programme is only provisional.

g) The candidate must undergo one-semester Ph. D. course work that comprises two theory papers and
must pass the Ph. D. course work examination.
h) The candidates with research fellowships as mentioned in rules 4. 4. 1. 1. a ,b & c, admitted into Ph. D.
programme must work only as Full-Time research scholars.
(See Rule - 7 for the rules governing full time and part-time research scholars)
4.4.2. Category-II: Candidates with NET/APSET/JEST/M. Phil (through regular mode from O. U.)/Ph. D. in
allied subject and those candidates qualified in the Ph. D. Eligibility Test conducted by O. U.
For the admission of these candidates into Ph. D. the procedure is as follows:
a) The University will issue a notification, once in a year, within 6 weeks after declaration of the result of
the Ph. D. Eligibility Test, instructing the candidates belonging to category-II, to apply in the prescribed
form to the Dean of the concerned Faculty. The Dean will send these applications to the concerned
department to scrutinize for the purpose of establishing the eligibility of the candidate. Then the Dean
informs the candidates to appear for the Ph. D. admission interview.
b) The candidates appearing for this interview must submit a comprehensive research proposal.
c)

Each candidate shall be interviewed by the committee about the research proposal. After satisfactory
performance of the candidate, the committee allots research supervisor in the area of interest of the
candidate and the specialization of the research supervisor.

d) Dean of the Faculty informs the research supervisor regarding the allotment of one or more candidates
for the research guidance and the research supervisor must give his/her written consent.
4.4.3

Criteria for merit
The total marks awarded for academic performance, merit in scholastic competence and interview
performance are 50 and the division is as follows.

1. Academic Performance
UG Level (5 marks)
80% and above: 5 Marks
Less than 80 but up to 70%: 4 Marks
Less than 70 but up to 60%: 3 Marks
Less than 60 but up to 55%: 2 Marks
Less than 55 but up to 50%: 1 Marks

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PG Level (10 marks)
80% and above: 10 Marks
Less than 80 but up to 70%: 8 Marks
Less than 70 but up to 60%: 6Marks
Less than 60 but up to 55%: 4 Marks
Less than 55 but up to 50%: 2 Marks
2. Scholastic competitiveness(20 Marks)
NET/Ph. D in allied subject: 20 Marks
M. Phil in the concerned subject from OU: 17 Marks
AP SET/JEST: 15 Marks
OU Eligibility Test: 10 Marks
In case a candidate is qualified in more than one test, the test having maximum marks is considered for
awarding marks
3. Research Exposure: 5 marks
Project fellow: 1 mark per year
Research publications: 1 mark per paper
Conference presentations: National/International: 1 mark per presentation
4. Research proposal & Interview Performance: 10 Marks
4.4.4

Reservation of seats in the Ph. D admission:

a) The admission of the category -II students into Ph. D. programme is in accordance with the reservation
policy of the Govt. of A. P.
b) For the purpose of reservation, the Department is taken as a unit.
c) The Dean of the Faculty notifies the total number of vacancies for Ph. D admission in a particular year.
All those candidates with research fellowship (Category-I ie. CSIR/UGC/ICMR/ICAR/DBT, INSPIRE
fellowships, Teacher fellowships, RGNF, MANF, NIN-JRF, IICT-JRF and SRFs) are directly admitted into
Ph. D. by the Ph. D admission committee chaired by Dean of the faculty as per the procedure given in
rule 4.4.1. above. The remaining seats are filled up by the category –II candidates following the
reservation policy of the Govt. of AP as per the procedure given in rule 4.4.2
d) All category-II students admitted into Ph. D. programme may work either as full time research scholars
or as part time research scholars.
(see rule 7 for the rules governing full-time and part-time research scholars)
e) The admission of category-II students into the Ph. D. Programme after the interview by the Ph. D.
Admission Committee is only provisional. The candidate must compulsory do the one semester Ph. D.
course work that comprises of two theory papers and must pass the Ph. D. course work examination
conducted by the University.

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4.4.5. Part-time Ph. D
To forge collaboration between industry/professional and the University departments one seat to each
supervisor under foreign students category is allotted in case the required number of foreign scholars
are not available. The officials in the following categories are eligible to the Ph. D admission under this
category.
1. Civil Servants working in the Government not below the cadre of Joint Secretary
2. National/State level top public sector organizations-working in the rank not less than the General
Manager
3. Defence personnel with not below the rank of Wing Commander/Captain Navy/Colonel
4. Private Organization with annual turnover not less than Rs. 100 crores and with the position not less
than Vice-President
5. Not less than the rank of Judge of High Court of the State
The candidates admitted under this category have to clear NET/APSET/OU Ph. D. Eligibility Test in the
concerned subject within two years from the date of admission into the Ph. D. programme. Further the
selection criteria for admission under this category is same as mentioned in rule 4.4.3.
5.

Research Supervisors:

5.1.

Each Research Supervisor shall guide not more than eight candidates at a time in their Ph.D. programme
that includes guiding of candidates who have registered for Ph. D. Degree in other departments of the
University.

5.2.

Out of these eight seats per supervisor, two seats are preferably allocated to research fellowship
holders.

5.3.

Further, only one foreign student may be allotted to a research supervisor as an additional seat over and
above the eight mentioned above by the Ph. D. Admission Committee chaired by Dean of the Faculty.

5.4.

During any one academic year the Ph. D. Admission Committee shall allot not more than four (4)
candidates to a research supervisor.

5.5.

The Ph.D. Admission Committee shall ensure that a candidate allotted to a research supervisor is not
his/her relative.

5.6.

A vacancy with the supervisor may be considered to have occurred only when a candidate working
under him/her submits the thesis OR his/her registration is cancelled.

5.7.

Joint Supervisor: Joint supervision is permitted in interdisciplinary areas of research provided the two
supervisors are not from the same Department. In all such cases, both the Supervisors must give their
written consent.

5.7.1. For candidates registered under a supervisor working in a National research laboratory which is a
recognized research centre by the University namely IICT, NIN etc, there may be a Joint Supervisor. For
Candidates registered under a supervisor working in a recognized research centre, there shall be a Joint
Supervisor who may be from the same subject or an allied subject (approved by the University), but is
working as a Faculty in Osmania University.
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5.7.2

For candidates registered with a Supervisor from the University Department, the Joint Supervisor may
be from the same subject provided he/she is working in a recognized research institution.

5.7.3. All matters concerning the allotment of a joint supervisor to a candidate is decided by the Ph. D.
Admission Committee at the time of admissions only.
5.8.

Change of Research Supervisor:

5.8.1

The Supervisor/Joint Supervisor of the candidate once allotted and approved shall not ordinarily be
changed. However, the Dean may, after ascertaining the facts, permit change of Supervisor/Joint
supervisor in exceptional circumstances like demise / non-availability of the approved Supervisor/ Joint
Supervisor for a continuous period of six months or more due to ill health or residence outside India.
Such a change in Supervisor/Joint Supervisor is permitted only once. All requests for change of
Supervisor/Joint Supervisor should originate from the candidate with necessary documentary evidence.
The candidate will have to work with new supervisor for a period of at least one year before submitting
his/her Thesis.

5.8.2. The research supervisor, who retires or leaves the University/Institution, as the case may be, shall
normally be permitted to supervise candidate(s) who have already registered with him/her.
5.9.

Retired Research Supervisors:
Research supervisors who retired from the University service but have research scheme(s) are permitted
to supervise Ph. D. candidates up to 10 years after retirement. Research Supervisors who retired from
the University service but do not have research scheme(s) are permitted to supervise Ph.D. candidates
up to 5 years after retirement. Retired Research Supervisors shall guide not more than four (4)
candidates at a time.

6.

Number of candidates allotment to research supervisor:

6.1.

The Ph. D. Admission Committee shall allot not more than four (4) candidates to a research
supervisor in an academic year. This number includes those admitted in Category-I as well as
Category-II.

6.2.

The Dean of the faculty notifies the list of candidates selected under Category-I and Category-II
separately for the admission into Ph. D. programme.

7.

Categories of Ph. D. Research Scholars:

7.1.

Full-time Research Scholars:
i)

Candidates registered for Full-Time Research shall work and conduct research on full-time basis during
the stipulated tenure of the course. Candidates with CSIR/UGC/ICAR/ICMR/DBT-JRF/IICTJRF/NIN-JRFs, INSPIRE/ ICSSR/RGNF/MANF and SRF holders and teacher candidate with FIP award
admitted into Ph. D. must work as Full-Time scholars.

ii)

The tenure of the Ph. D. course for a full-time research scholar is four (4) years from the date of
admission order issued by the Dean of the concerned Faculty.
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iii) A full-time research scholar shall not accept any employment during the tenure of the course.
However, any appointment in research/consultancy schemes is not considered as employment for the
purpose stated.
iv) If an employee of any organization is seeking admission as a full-time research scholar, he/she has to
submit, at the time of Ph. D. admission/registration, a letter from his / her employer to the effect that
necessary leave will be granted for the entire duration of the Ph. D course.
v) Hostel facility, including dining, for full-time research scholars is subject to the availability of vacancy in
the designated hostel, and is for a maximum period of four (4) years only and it is subject to satisfactory
progress report submitted once in every six months as certified by the Research supervisor and the Dean
of the Faculty.
7.2.

Part-time Ph. D. Research Scholars:

a. i) Candidates who are eligible for Ph. D. admission/registration and are not full-time research scholars will
be designated as part-time research scholars.
ii) The tenure of the Ph. D. course for a part-time Research Scholar is five (5) years from the date of
admission order issued by the Dean of the concerned Faculty.
iii) Candidates seeking admission as part-time research scholars have to submit employer’s permission to
pursue Ph. D. course.
iv) Candidates seeking admission as part-time research scholars must give an undertaking that he/she
would take leave for a minimum of six months for attending the classes of the Ph.D. course work during
the tenure of the Ph. D. course, and a letter from the employer that the required leave of six months will
be sanctioned for the purpose stated, as additional documents at the time of registration. Without the
permission letter from the employer the Ph.D. admission cannot be granted.
v) A part-time research scholar is not eligible for any hostel facility.
b. A candidate is permitted to change his/her status from full-time to part-time research, or vice-versa, for
any valid reason and approved by the Dean of the concerned Faculty. In such cases: If the candidate has
changed his/her status from full -time to part - time for example after 2 years, remaining tenure of the
Ph.D. course for such candidate shall be five (5) years minus the period already spent by him/her as fulltime. Similarly if a part-time research scholar changes his/her status to full time, the remaining tenure
of the Ph.D. course for such a candidate shall be (5) years minus the period already spent by him/her as
part-time. Candidates who change their status from part time to full time or vice versa are not entitled
for hostel admission.
c) A candidate who is admitted to Ph. D. course either as full-time or as part-time research scholar shall
not join any other course or appear for any other examination leading to a degree (either in regular or
distance education stream) of this University or any other University. Any violation of this regulation will
automatically lead to the cancellation of his/her admission in Ph. D. Course.

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8.

Ph.D. Course work and Examination:

8.1.

After provisional admission into the Ph. D. programme all the registered candidates shall take up the Ph.
D. course work in the respective main campus P.G. Department of the University for a period of one
semester and this is compulsory for both Category-I and Category -II candidates, and for both full-time
as well as part-time candidates. However, a candidate with a M. Phil degree done in regular mode is
exempted from the Ph. D. course work and the Ph. D. course work examination, provided that they have
undergone the same course work in M. Phil.

8.2

The Ph.D. course work shall comprise of two theory papers:
Paper 1: Research Methodology(100 Marks): Common to all the candidates admitted in a Department.
The syllabus of this paper includes the research techniques/ methods of the concerned
subject.
Paper 2: Broad field of specialization (100 marks): The syllabus of this paper includes the current
concepts/ trends in the concerned specialization of the subject. The broad specializations in a
department shall be restricted to five (5).
The candidate has to appear for an examination – (the Ph. D. course work examination) in these two
papers which have a weightage of 100 marks each.

8.3.

Each theory paper shall have 60 contact hours of classes

8.4.

The Faculty for these classes are arranged by the Head of the concerned Department.

8.5.

Both full-time and part-time research scholars shall have to attend a minimum of 75% classes
in each paper to be eligible to appear for the Ph. D. course work examination.

8.6.

The candidates who could not attend a minimum of 75% of the classes in each of the courses shall not
be eligible to appear for the Ph. D. course work examination and they have to attend the classes again
along with the next batch of students.

9.

Ph.D. Course Work Examination and Evaluation of Answer Scripts.
a) Ph. D. course work examination shall be conducted for the admitted candidates after the one semester
Ph. D. course work.
b) The pattern of the Ph. D. course work syllabus and the pattern of the Ph.D. course work examination
question paper shall be uniform for the Faculties.
c) The medium of examination for the Ph.D. course work examination shall be English for all subjects
except those in which the official medium of instruction is a language other than English.
d) The Chairperson, BoS, shall communicate the syllabi to the Controller of Examinations for the purpose of
conducting the Ph. D. course work examination.
e) The Chairperson - BoS shall arrange for the evaluation of the answer scripts. The Ph.D. course work
examination is of three-hour duration and is for 100 marks per theory paper. Each answer script is
assessed by two examiners (one internal Course Teacher and another external examiner). The marks
awarded to the answer script shall be the average of these two evaluations, and if the difference in the
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marks between two evaluations exceeds 20% of the maximum marks, such a script shall be assessed by
a third external examiner. The marks awarded to the script shall be the average of two higher marks out
of the three evaluations.
f)

The pass marks for Ph. D. course work examination in all the Faculties shall be 50% in each paper.

g) If the candidate does not pass in two consecutive Ph. D. course work examinations conducted in the
concerned subject, his/her Ph.D. registration shall automatically gets cancelled. For this purpose, the
two successive examinations conducted after the admission of the candidate, and for the batch of
students of which he /she belongs to, be counted.
10.

Progress Reports:

10.1

After the completion of the course work and the Ph. D. course work examination, every candidate shall
submit half-yearly progress report to the Dean duly forwarded by the Research Supervisor. The halfyearly Progress Report should cover, among others, the aspects such as the review of literature, data
collected, techniques developed, progress in research, discussion of the work done including any
findings, etc. If necessary, this progress report may be forwarded to the DRC by the Dean for further
examination.

10.2

If a candidate fails to submit two consecutive half-yearly progress reports in time and/or if the progress
of the candidate is not satisfactory for two half-year periods, the Department Research Committee shall
recommend to the Dean of the faculty for the cancellation of his/her registration in consultation with
the concerned Research Supervisor.

11.

Seminar Presentations:
During the tenure of the Ph. D. programme, candidate shall give two seminars of which the first one is
presented after the Ph. D. course work examination. This seminar designated as “Research Design
Seminar” will be a comprehensive literature review of the research topic and the plan of work. This
seminar shall be conducted in the main Campus Department where the candidate is registered. The
Head and Chairperson, BoS shall certify the conduct of the seminar. The second seminar designated as
“Pre-Submission seminar” is presented by a candidate whose Ph. D. thesis is ready for submission. This
seminar deals with the entire Ph. D. of his/her work carried out by the candidate and is presented in the
Department where he/she is registered and any feedback, comments and suggestions from the
participants be included in the final manuscript of the thesis. The draft copy of the Ph. D. thesis must be
available during this presentation. The pre submission seminar is held at least three (3) months before
the thesis submission. The presentation of this pre-submission seminar shall be certified by the Head of
the Department, Chairperson, BoS, and the Research Supervisor of the candidate and two certificates
(Research Design Seminar, and Pre-Submission Seminar) must be enclosed at the time of thesis
submission.

12.

Modification of topic of research and the title of Ph.D. Thesis:

12.1

The Dean may permit the modification in the topic of research, provided the candidate has applied
for it within one year from the date of admission or before he/she passed the Ph.D. course work
examination, whichever is earlier. His/her request must be recommended with due justification by
the Research Supervisor and the Research Committee of the concerned Department. However, such a
modification is permitted only once. Any change in the topic of research shall not be permitted after
the candidate has passed the Ph.D. course work examination.
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12.2

The Dean may permit the modification in title of the Ph. D. thesis. Candidate’s request must be
recommended with due justification by the Research Supervisor and the Research Committee of
the concerned Department. However, such a modification is permitted only once.

12.3

Candidates seeking the change of topic of research or the title of the thesis have to pay the
prescribed fee for each of the above.

13.

Extension of Registration:

13.1

Candidate can seek extension of his/her registration as Ph. D. scholar, one year at a time, (a
maximum of two (2) such extensions for a full-time and one (1) such extension for a part-time scholar)
provided that he/she has been continuously engaged in active research, the progress of the
research
work in the previous years has been satisfactory as certified by the supervisor(s), and that he/she has no
dues in the library/department / college / hostel as certified by the concerned authority.

13.2

Candidate seeking extension of registration shall submit a written request, along with the progress
report of the work done and the prescribed fee, duly recommended by the supervisor(s),the
chairperson, and the Head of the concerned Department in the University. The request must be
submitted to the Dean at least two months before the expiry of the registration period, failing which the
request for extension is liable for rejection.

13.3

Based on the recommendations of the Supervisor (s), the Chairperson and the Head of the
Department, the Dean may extend, not exceeding one year at a time, the Ph.D. registration of a
candidate for a maximum period of Two (2) years in case of a full-time, one year(1) in case of parttime research scholar. The registration of a research scholar whether full time or part-time shall
automatically stand cancelled after the expiry of 6 years.

14.

Publication of a Research Paper:
A Ph.D. candidate shall publish one research paper related to his/her Ph D work in a
referred/recognized Journal before the submission of thesis for adjudication and produce the
evidence of the same in the form of the reprint. This research paper shall be enclosed in the thesis
as an Appendix.

15.

Cancellation of Ph.D. Admission/Registration:

15.1.

The Dean may cancel the registration of a Ph. D. scholar, if the candidate fails to satisfy the
conditions stipulated in the admission order, within the prescribed period.

15.2.

The Dean may cancel the registration of a Ph.D. scholar on the recommendation of the Supervisor and
Head of the Department under any one or more of the following circumstances:

i)

Where the progress of the research work has been reported to be unsatisfactory in two consecutive
Half-yearly reports or when two consecutive progress reports are not submitted.

ii) Where a candidate discontinues his/her research, and/or where he/she has applied for employment
without obtaining the written permission of the Dean, or when he/she accepts any appointment
without the written consent of the Dean.
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iii) The University may cancel the admission of a research scholar at any time for proven misbehavior or
misconduct of the candidate in the University or elsewhere.
iv) If a research scholar is found guilty of committing any irregularity, malpractice, plagiarism etc., in
research, his/her result will be withheld / cancelled by the Controller of Examinations, even after the
publication of the result.
16. Submission of Ph.D. Thesis:
a) A full-time research scholar is eligible to submit his/her Ph. D. thesis after completing three (3) years of
research and after four (4) years in case of Part-time research scholars from the date of admission order.
b) A research scholar, full-time or part-time, whose registration has expired / cancelled, is not eligible to
submit the thesis.
c) After the completion of his/her Ph.D. thesis, each candidate is required to submit to the Controller of
Examinations, the following along with the prescribed application form.
i) Four Soft bound copies of the thesis incorporating a certificate from the Supervisor to the effect that the
thesis is an original work of the candidate and a certificate by the candidate to the effect that the thesis
either in part or full does not constitute any part of any thesis/dissertation/monograph submitted by
him/her or any other-person to this or any other University/Institute. The candidate is also required to
submit a soft copy (CD) of the thesis.
ii) A Demand Draft drawn in favour of the Controller of Examinations for the prescribed fee.
iii) Memorandum of marks of Ph.D. course work Examination and copy of the PG and UG Degrees.
iv) A reprint of the paper published in a referred/recognized Journal as an enclosure in the thesis.
v) A copy of the letter of admission/extension/change of title/etc to the Ph.D. course along with a proof of
having paid the prescribed fees and satisfied all conditions stipulated at the time of admission.
vi) A copy of the permission letter for change of title/topic/supervisor.
vii) Certification from the Head of the Department, Chairperson, BoS and the Research Supervisor, that the
candidate has i) presented the two seminars during the tenure of the Ph.D. work and ii) that he/she
conducted research work in an institution recognized for the purpose by the University, and iii) about
the leave particulars in case of part-time Research Scholar.
viii) No Dues Certificates from the Chief Warden, Principal of the concerned Campus College, Head of the
concerned Department and the Librarian of the Department Seminar and University Librarian.
d) The thesis submitted for adjudication shall conform to the following specifications:
i) It must be typed on both sides of A4 size paper using font face” Times New Roman”, font size 12
with 1. 5 line spacing. For drawings and maps, these restrictions do not apply. Binding should
conform to the norms fixed by the University Library.
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ii) The Research Supervisor of the candidate shall submit 6 copies of the synopsis of the thesis along with a
panel of 12 examiners (10 copies) in a cover marked ``confidential” to the Chairperson, Board of Studies
at least three months before the actual submission of the Ph. D. thesis. Chairperson, BoS, shall take the
approval of the members of the BoS for panel of examiners suggested by the Supervisor.
iii) Out of the panel of 12 examiners, 9 are to be identified from outside the State of Andhra Pradesh, and
not more than one from the same institution. The panel of names is to be submitted with all particulars,
like complete address, e-mail ID, telephone number in the prescribed proforma.
iv) The Chairperson, Board of Studies, shall then forward the approved panel of 12 names along with the 6
copies of the Synopsis for further action to the Controller of Examinations within a fortnight. Ph. D.
Supervisors recognized by Osmania University and persons related to the candidate shall not be
included in the panel of Examiners. In case a candidate does not submit the thesis within 6 months from
the date of approval of the panel, the panel lapses and a new panel has to be suggested.
17. Ph.D. Thesis Evaluation/Adjudication:
a) Three independent Examiners/Referees appointed for the purpose by the Vice Chancellor shall do the
Evaluation/Adjudication of the thesis.
b) The Controller of Examinations, while communicating the appointment to the Examiner, shall send a
copy of the synopsis of the thesis and seek his/her willingness to adjudicate it based on the synopsis
submitted. After obtaining the consent of the Examiner, a copy of the thesis will be sent with a request
to submit his/her report in a prescribed format. The format consists of three parts.
Part-1: A Detailed Evaluation,
Part-2: A Detailed Report mentioning the strengths and weaknesses of the thesis, and
Part-3: A Final Recommendation.
c) A candidate needs to score a minimum of 50 per cent of the points in Part-1 to be eligible for the vivavoce examination. As a final recommendation, the examiner has to state in clear/unequivocal terms
whether, in his/her opinion,
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.

The thesis can be accepted for award of Ph. D degree in its present form
The thesis be accepted subject to revision/corrections suggested and be verified by the
Research Supervisor
The thesis be revised/resubmitted for re-evaluation by same adjudicator.
The thesis is rejected

After all the 3 reports are received, a decision is to be taken for the conduct of a viva-voce
examination before the award of the Ph. D. degree, as per the following guidelines.
i)

If the reports of all the three examiners are favorable (i.e. accepting the thesis as it is), the
candidate is permitted to take the Ph. D. viva-voce Examination.

ii)

If anyone/two of the examiners suggest a revision, the thesis shall be revised
resubmitted for approval to the same examiner(s).

iii)

If two or all the three examiners reject the thesis, it will be rejected for the award of Ph. D.
degree and the registration of the candidate shall stand cancelled.
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accordingly and

iv)

If any one of the examiners rejects the thesis, the thesis shall be sent to another examiner from
the existing panel of examiners approved by the Vice Chancellor. If this examiner also rejects
the thesis, the thesis is deemed to be rejected and the registration of the candidate shall stand
cancelled.

d) In the event of any adjudicator’s report not received even after 3 months from the date of Submission,
the thesis may be referred to a fourth Examiner from the same panel for Adjudication.
e) Minor corrections suggested by the examiner(s) shall be intimated to the Research supervisor of the
candidate by the Controller of Examinations before the conduct of the Ph. D. Viva voce Examination.
These corrections must be incorporated in the thesis and errata be enclosed in the thesis and shown to
the Ph.D. viva voce examiners.
18.

Ph. D. Viva-Voce Examination:

18.1.

The Ph. D. viva voce examination of the candidate is conducted only after all the three examiners
recommend the award of Ph. D. Degree. The Controller of Examinations instructs the Chairperson, BoS,
to conduct the Ph. D. viva voce examination by constituting a Board of examiners.

18.2.

The Ph.D. viva-voce examination shall be conducted in the concerned University Department by a Board
of Examiners, and comprise the following five (5) members:
a) Chairperson, Board of Studies, (b) Head of the Department, (c) two Faculty members of the
Department who are recognized supervisors and working in the area related to the thesis work,
approved by the Vice-Chancellor out of the four (4) suggested by the Chairperson, BoS (d) the
Supervisor of the candidate, who shall be the Convener.

18.3.

If no eligible faculty member is available in the Department for inclusion in the Board of
Examiners, an external expert may be invited for the purpose.

18.4.

After the Board of Examiners is constituted for the conduct of viva-voce examination, the Head of the
Department shall obtain two copies of the thesis and make it available to the members of the Board to
enable them to conduct the viva voce examination.

18.5.

The viva-voce examination is open to the students and faculty of the Department, and to the scientists
in the concerned / allied subject. The Chairperson, Board of Studies of the concerned Department, shall
display on the notice board the date and time of the Viva-voce examination one week in advance.

18.6.

The Board of Examiners, who conduct the viva-voce examination shall either recommend for the award
of the Ph.D. degree or recommend that the candidate be asked to take the viva-voce examination a
second time giving reasons thereof. The second viva-voce examination shall be conducted by the same
set of examiners, and not earlier than three months but not later than six months of the date of the first
viva- voce examination. The Dean of the concerned Faculty shall participate in the second viva-voce
examination, and record his/her observations and send it directly to the Vice- Chancellor.

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19.

Declaration of the Ph. D. Result:

19.1.

After completion of the viva voce examination, the reports of the thesis examiners and the report
of the viva voce Board of Examiners shall be immediately sent to the Controller of Examinations in
a cover marked ``confidential’’.

19.2.

After successful completion of the viva voce examination and incorporating the suggestions made by
the Board of examiners/participants the candidate must now submit 2 hard bound Copies of the thesis
and 2 soft copies of the thesis. The hard bound copies shall be made available to all, one in the
University General library and the other in the Department Seminar Library. A soft copy of the thesis
shall be sent to the UGC, New Delhi within 30 days of award of the Ph.D. degree for hosting the same in
INFLIBNET, accessible to all Indian Universities/ Institutions. Another soft copy is for hosting the thesis in
the O.U. website. The Controller of Examinations declares the Ph.D. result of a candidate only on receipt
of 2 hard bound copies of the thesis and 2 soft copies of the thesis.

Note: All other matters that have not been covered by the rules mentioned above shall be referred to
Standing Committee whose decision will be final.
(The Ph.D. Rules and Regulations, Osmania University were approved by the Standing Committee of the
Academic Senate at its meeting held on 24- 05- 2014.)
********

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